Obama: Russia sanctions 'teed up'

President Barack Obama traveled nearly 7,000 miles around the globe to Tokyo but returned to domestic political troubles with a new trade agreement and to the situation in Ukraine on Thursday, suggesting that another round of sanctions against Russia are “teed up” and ready to go should President Vladimir Putin prove unwilling to work through diplomatic means.

Obama has struggled to build domestic support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership — from Democrats and Republicans alike — but urged critics of the deal to make sacrifices in the interest of expanding trade with Asia.

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“Sometimes [we] have to push our constituencies beyond their current comfort levels,” Obama said of opposition to TPP, not only among some American politicians but among some in Japan. Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a joint press conference, the president said that on TPP, “Prime Minister Abe has to deal with his politics and I’ve got to deal with mine.”

Obama said he supports the trade deal “because ultimately I think it is good for America” to have a wide-ranging trade agreement with much of the Asia-Pacific region. “But it’s a win-win situation” because the same is true for all the other countries that are involved in negotiating the deal. “That means that short term all of us need to move out of our comfort zones.”

Abe also supports the finalization of TPP, saying Thursday that “it’s strategically very important” and that “the remaining issues must be overcome very quickly.”

The president also used the press conference — the first of four he’ll do in the coming week during a four-country trip across Asia — to scold Russia for not abiding “by the spirit or the letter” of the agreement reached last week Geneva that was aimed at easing tensions with Ukraine.

“Instead, we continue to see men taking over buildings, harassing folks who are disagreeing with them … and we haven’t seen Russia discouraging that,” he said. Kiev, meanwhile, is taking constructive steps “that are consistent” with the Geneva agreement.

If Russia continues along the same path, “there will be further consequences,” Obama said, though he reiterated that they won’t include the use of U.S. force. “With respect to Russia and Ukraine, we’ve been very clear about the fact that there’s not going to be a military solution to the situation in Ukraine.” The next round of sanctions have already been prepared and “teed up,” he later added.

Obama also addressed continued concerns about North Korea. While trying to push Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programs, there’s also an acknowledgement that, “in the meantime, they’re dangerous,” the president said.

While the United States and others can apply pressure, “China’s participation in pushing the DPRK in a different direction is critically important,” he added. Abe agreed. “Pressure must be applied. China holds the key in this,” he said.

Obama was set to meet with students at Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and to later tour the Meiji Shrine before attending a state dinner at the Imperial Palace. On Friday, he will depart Tokyo for Seoul, South Korea, the second stop of the trip. He will also visit Kuala Lumpur and Manila.